Recently, fashion has become more and more expensive. A name brand shirt with holes in it may cost $350, but you can get the equivalent for $15-$30 at H&M. The lingering question is, what is it about name brands that make people spend more on items? According to Cholmes0410 at Infogram.com, a website that focuses on infographic reports, 19% think name brands have better design, 13% of people feel more confident, and 10% wear it because of their classmates. Surprisingly, 40% of the people polled mentioned that they like name brands because they believe it has better quality.
Choosing name brands over generic is not only an issue in clothing brands, it’s also an issue in pharmaceuticals. Renard Thompkins, a pharmacist, says that the difference between generic and name brand medicines is similar to an analogy that “would be the example of taste of Wonder Bread or the taste of generic bread. They typically use the same ingredients but the quality of those ingredients could affect overall efficiency of the product. Meaning it may not dissolve like the brand or it may (have an) undesirable side effect."
Portraying the idea that name brands simply may have better quality in usage is a key detail to the overall question. In addition, this idea has been expanded to other areas, such as shoes. John, an employee at Foot Locker, states that “having that name brand shoe can often make people feel confident in what they are wearing. They don’t have to worry about people talking about them, because they have the hottest shoe.” Overall, it’s a pattern that people assume based on their past experiences, that name brands have higher quality.
In reality, most food and pharmaceuticals all have to meet the same quality standards. As a result, we are left with the question of what makes a name brand so attractive rather than a generic brand. In addition, there are standards for the clothing. According to the International Trade Administration, Federal Trade Commission does have a quality standard for clothing. From the sources, consumers that are in search of quality are expecting a specific name brand to have even higher quality than generic.
